December 31, 2012

I'm a little late joining up, but here's my roundup of my main dishes of 2012!

Well, not so much a roundup... Basically I've learned that I didn't post many savory recipes at all this year! Oops. It is soooo on my resolution list for 2013 to be better with blogging recipes! I have tons of pictures on my camera, just haven't blogged about them.

December 30, 2012

This year has been a lot more of baking and sweets. Strange, me being a steak and potatoes kinda gurl and all. Next year I hope to have more of a variety of recipes on my blog. Resolution #1 for 2013.So, there weren't many breakfast recipes on the blog this year. I present to you, the best breakfast recipes of 2012!!Sausage and Hashbrown Bake

December 27, 2012

I had heard good things about this "7-minute burger".Apparently it takes 7 minutes to make. Did you guess that? Apparently it is also one of the 40 best burgers in Cincinnati according to Cincinnati Magazine.

So I made PJ take me out on a lunch date to Paula's Cafe, home of that 7-minute burger.It's located on 4th Street in downtown Cincy so be sure to bring some change for meter parking! It's small inside with not much seating, and I hear it can get pretty busy with lines out the door, so be ready. But we didn't have a wait when we went luckily.

It was a bit confusing when we came in. There was a big sign telling us to "Order Here" at the register, so we walked up to order. We had never been there before and didn't know how the ordering process went, and the lady rudely acted like we should know and handed us some paper to write our order on. We wrote down our burger orders. You can choose which toppings you want on it. We remembered after she rang us out that we also would like something to drink. She did not offer that to us when we were ordering, no "would you like drinks with that?" or anything like that. No biggie, but then when I tried to add the drinks on she had the nerve to tell me that there is a minimum amount you must order to use credit card, and that I would have to spend more to reach that minimum amount to pay by card. Even though we JUST purchased $20 worth of food. I wanted to bop her in her face. There was no way I was spending more so we just had to suffer with no drinks. Great service!!! Sike.Then we went to sit down and the lady who rang us out was saying that since we ordered at the counter that it was supposed to be a to-go order and kinda made a big deal about us dining in. Well then it needs to be more clearly displayed when you come in. I shouldn't have to come in to a restaurant and be so confused how or where is the proper place to order. If it really mattered, and she knew we had never been there before, she could have asked us if it was for dine in or carry out. I'm sure you have new customers there on more than one occasion so it would be nice to not assume that everyone who comes in knows the "correct way and place" to order. Sure hope that wasn't Paula herself.Off to a bad start, customer service-wise.On to the food.

I also ordered the 7-minute burger and fries, but with different toppings on my burger. Mine had mayo, sauteed onions and mushrooms (add $.50 each), and fried egg (add $.95).

I was pleased with the burger. It was tender, juicy, and definitely had that fresh-not-frozen taste. You could tell they were hand pattied because they were so plump. It's hard to find good burgers so I appreciate this one.It's also a messy burger, so have lots of napkins on hand, and no white shirts! I liked the egg and runny yolk with it, but next time I think I'll try it with other toppings. I also liked the thin, crispy fries.So food = win. Service, not so much. But I'd be willing to go back again. Definitely wanna get my hands on that burger again!They also have salads and sandwiches if you aren't in a burger mood.

December 25, 2012

I know, I know. I've been a bit M.I.A. when it comes to recipe posts this month. I have managed to whip out a few restaurant review posts for the local Cincy readers. But what about my other readers?So since I don't have a new recipe for you today, here's a roundup of delicious goodies for your holiday baking extravaganzas!!

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon and 1 teaspoon nutmeg.In a large bowl, cream sugar and butter. Add eggnog, vanilla, and egg yolks. Beat at medium speed with mixer until smooth.Add the flour mixture and beat at low speed until just combined. Do not overmix.Spoon onto ungreased cookie sheets or parchment paper, making the dough balls small as they will spread when baking. Sprinkle lightly with nutmeg.Bake 15-18 minutes or until the edges barely start to brown.While cookies are in the oven, make the eggnog glaze by whisking together the powdered sugar with 3 tablespoons eggnog. Glaze cookies warm or cooled.

December 18, 2012

I had some kind of deal (Groupon? Livingsocial? Don't remember.) so we decided to go to Melt for brunch one Sunday. We got there at 2:25 PM and they were no longer serving brunch though brunch is supposed to go until 3:00 PM. So just a heads up, if you are going there for brunch, apparently you need to call ahead of time to make sure they are still gonna be serving it! I hate that. When a place advertises that they serve brunch or breakfast until a certain time, it should be until that time. I understand if they sell out of something. Then that should be expressed on the website or menu. Such as "Serving brunch until 3:00 PM or until sold out". Yep, that would be nice.

view of Melt from my car :)

Here's what it looks like on the inside. There is also a seating area in the back but we didn't go back there to see it.

My date :)

Let's just say it wasn't the cleanest place. They had these yellow magnetic words on the wall for you to make your own phrases and words. Dingy yellow words. We didn't really want to touch them. They looked like they had years and years of grease, grime, and dirt on them.

They had opened straws on the table. That's no good.... the straws are collecting dust that way! Their little salt and pepper and napkin tray had dirt in it, paper trash, and looked like it needed a good cleaning.

Hard crusted food/booger on their display in the bottom right. Ew! Not touching that. Go ahead and click on it to enlarge and zoom in on the nasty.

There were also flies buzzing around us and our food. Never appetizing.

Not only were there flies and dirt, there was a fan right next to me blowing napkins the whole time. Not comfortable while eating.

Oh, and the tables were tiny... our plates barely fit on them.

Finally after waiting 35 minutes, they brought out our food. We had ordered Rudys Nachos (which says $7.50 on their website but we were charged $8.75) as an appetizer but it ended up coming out with our food. Again, hate that. An appetizer is an appetizer. That means serve it before the main course!!!

Anyhoo, the chili on the nachos was pretty good actually, but the nachos overall were pretty bootleg to us. Sun chips, first of all. Don't get me wrong, I love sun chips. But never seen them used for restaurant nachos. That was a first. And there was a half-melted slice of cheese on top, and cold shredded mozzarella. Not impressed for the price. Or for half the price, really.

PJ ordered The Joan Of Arc with a side ($9.75). The sandwich had roast beef, roasted red peppers, roasted garlic, blue cheese, caramelized onions and provolone melted on foccaccia. He didn't like his sandwich. I liked his bread better than my rye bread. I'm a foccaccia kinda gurl.

I ordered The Hoffner with a side ($9.75). The Hoffner had roast beef, marinated mushrooms, red onion, baby organic spinach, swiss and horseradish cream melted on rye bread. The roast beef was gray and hard, unfortunately. I did like the marinated mushrooms and horseradish very much, but the hard gray meat and nasty rye made it not good for me. It was served with a side of cold, undercooked potatoes.

For drinks, PJ got a Nantucket Nectars OJ ($2), and I got a Bottled 355ml Coke ($1.75 I think). No fountain drinks or free refills :(

It's not that I like writing bad reviews. Why would I? Why would I want to not enjoy an experience that I paid for?!? Plus you know I love food, people! I don't think there is ever a time that I am hoping for bad food. If I could write a better review, I would.Hey, I just call em like I see em. It just wasn't worth it and we were very disappointed with the food, cleanliness, and wait. Maybe you'll have a better experience?Not sure, but I definitely won't be back to see if I will. Not going back ever. Ever ever.